Anger of IDS over £3.4bn welfare cuts
IAIN Duncan Smith will today urge ministers to reverse a £3.4billion benefit cut imposed by George Osborne.
In a surprise move, the Conservative former work and pensions secretary will speak out publicly against the planned cut to Universal Credit (UC), warning that it will cost three million people more than £1,000 a year each.
Cuts to the flagship welfare scheme were pushed through by Mr Osborne in 2015 as part of a wider drive to reduce Britain’s bloated benefits bill.
The former Chancellor was forced to abandon identical cuts to tax credits following a rebellion by Tory MPs.
However, the cuts will still be phased in as people are shifted from tax credits to UC over the next few years.
Mr Duncan Smith today warns that the proposed cuts are so deep they risk wrecking the fundamental principle of the Universal Credit scheme that it should always pay people to take more work.
He suggests that the cuts could be avoided if ministers freeze the party’s manifesto plans to raise the starting threshold for paying income tax.
‘Most people on benefits want to work,’ he says. ‘They want a regular routine, an interaction with a community outside the home, a stake in society and a sense of purpose.
‘Work gives this to them – and it is crucial that we make sure people are always better off because they are in work.
‘Every penny invested in Universal Credit will go to low-paid workers, yet this is true of just 25 pence of every £1 invested in the income tax personal allowance. Investing in Universal Credit is a far better way of supporting those who need it most.
‘This is why we must restore Universal Credit’s original budget, and help those who are just about managing to properly provide for themselves and their families.’
His decision to intervene on the issue belies the caricature of Mr Duncan Smith as the architect of the Government’s welfare cuts.
Friends say his reforms were always driven by a desire to change behaviour rather than just save money.
He is said to have railed against repeated raids on his budget by Mr Osborne during his time in government.
Mr Duncan Smith’s decision to go public on his concerns could now spell trouble for the Government, and will be seized upon by the Labour Party, which also opposes the reductions.
His intervention coincides with the release of a report on the issue by his think tank, the Centre for Social Justice, which did much of the original work on UC.
It warns that the cuts will damage work ‘incentives’ and make it more likely that families will end up trapped in poverty.
The study also suggests the cuts will contradict Theresa May’s pledge to focus Government support on those in society who are ‘just about managing’.